Those Lovable Marx 6-Inch Sets

Thank you, MBA.  The original set box is long gone, but the loco runs fine after cleaning and lubing.

 

My sister and I would sometimes undo the two screws holding the shell on, then run the motor around the track just short of a speed that would cause it to fly off on the curves.  Of course, that took some learning, so sometimes it took a carpet-nap dive.  

nice gift for sure. I never cared much for the 6" cars...till I got some. now I can see the need for more. they just have the right sound going around the track, and that great Marx tinplate look.

I got into trains when I received a Marx 3/16 set.  When I looked for passenger cars for

it, all I could find in Woolworth's was the red six inch Bogata, etc., cars.  I knew they

were a poor match for the 3/16 and have disliked and generally avoided six inch ever

since.  But...collect what you like.

Marx six inch is what brought me into the tinplate portion of the hobby. My collection has changed and morphed through the years, but Marx six inch is still near and dear. I now focus mainly on the 8 wheel six inch, but at one time had a real horde of 4 wheel also.

 

Steve

 

so many other manufacturers of 6-inch 4 wheel, but few so affordable. started with Marx then branched out into everything else. Hafner, AF, Bing, Hornby, the list goes on and on. I still have at least 50 cars in original Marx and Ameritrains

Early 6" MARX are the kings of tinplate "toy" train to me.

 The proportioning yields just the right amount of clatter.

  Popularity made them common enough that I think of Marx first whenever tinplate is mentioned.

 

Nice set!

 

 

  

Yup, they're one of my favorite type of freight car as well.

 

 

Marx made some incredible trains for the money. I have a slew of Marx trains and love them. EZ to work on and they run forever with very little care...

Prewar Commodore Vanderbilt assembled from pieces I bought to recreate a set I had a long time ago. 

Robert, that is more FGEX freight cars than I've seen ever.

Jim, that's the entire numeric series.  Needless to say, it took awhile to find all of them.

i'll second that!  i've had 15 of 16 numbers for about 10 years now and just can't seem to track down #16... (actually #10970*).

 

i did finally manage to pick up the last NYC Pacemaker boxcar.

here is a shot i put together to show the various Marx shades of NYC gray...

 

 

though i'm pretty sure i put this composite together when i still only had 15 numbers.

 

fun stuff...gary

 

* in case anyone with a C7- or better condition FGEX #10970 is up for a trade, i'll try to make it worth your while.

what are there 50 shades of Marx gray? That's like trying to match Mercury passenger cars to a loco and tender.

The last decent 10970 I saw was on the Bay in January. 90.00 and unsold.

Actually I was just playing with some of these last night!  I have a commodore vanderbuilt that was overhauled by the forum's own PAPA Eastman!  While the engine runs well I am not a big fan of all the sparks from the slide shoe, so just to run them without the light show I put them behind a mid 70's lionel steamer, using the lionel loco tab into the marx tender slot.  I didn't look any more ridiculous than the marx engine does and was of course much smoother, and no sparks!  

Can't quite duplicate the sounds with any other set of cars

have to say that i haven't been actively looking for anything small for a few years now.  live steam has taken over as giving me most of my train fix not to mention having to use a big chunk of my hobby funds for shipping those PA black diamonds to the west coast.

 

one of the last 6" sets i did buy was a pretty nice find.

 

not exactly my #550 set, but almost certainly from the same time frame.

i have to admit i did pay a tad more than the 1938 price.

 

it was nice to find the flimsy prewar box in such nice shape...

 

and with a barely used train inside.

this is close to the only auction picture that was shown.

 

 

 

the locomotive was described as a clockwork #3000 and not even seeing the complete condition in pictures, i knew it alone was worth my moderate bid which wound up winning.

 

definitely not a disappointment when i finally saw it in person.

i've never seen a clockwork locomotive pilot in such an unblemished state.

 

but there were two more surprises;

the first being the #551 tender.

 

the basic NYC rivet tender is fairly common, but not with the Marx logo.

 

and even though the (562) truck flat was an obvious part of the set...

 

the sliding tab/ slot couplers makes it a rare variation.

 

more fun stuff.

cheers...gary

That is a great find you have there, Gary. 

 

Here is a windup set I got from its original owner.  Complete with box, instructions and sleeves for engine and tender.

I recently found that same box top neatly folded under 4 inches of fiberglass insulation in the attic of my house. Also an envelope for the windup key and an AF track lock-on. A Sunday newspaper from 1946 was also a few eaves over with some Easter basket cellophane grass.

       
       



Sparks?  I'v not noticed all that much sparking from my Marx locos. Perhaps a cleaning is in order?

Those 6 inch cars took me awhile to warm up to, but they are a lot of fun!

All the cars on my Marx layout are of the 6" - 4 wheel type.  I love the toy like simplicity, they are fun and inexpensive to collect.  Here is a video of my layout.

 

Love the pictures!

Marx has a charm all its own!

 

Peter

Geez - didn't you have the urge to take up all the insulation to see what else might be there?

The house was built in 1896 so I was hoping to find more like an early AF or Joy Line set or maybe a Katz 515 or Hafner Overland Flyer set, but I did tear up half the attic insulation looking for more. Now that weather is cooler, I will tackle the other half.

 

 

went up to my late Uncle's place today to help his boy start to go thru some of his stuff. Haven't gotten to his Lionel stuff yet, but I did come home with his CV. I remember watching this run under my Grandparents Christmas tree. My Dad stopped by the other day, and he remembers my Grandmother buy it at GC Murphy's for $1. I picked up the tender for him several years ago. I hadn't seen it run for quite a while, so when I got home tonight, I did the usual clean and lube. It tries to run, but almost acts like there is a short. Will have to dig into to it another time.

And I had seen this little guy sitting on a shelf, but had dismissed it has a battery operated locomotive. Almost as an afterthought, I gave it a look today, and saw Lionel on the bottom. Stuck it n the track, and it just jumps around. Has defiantly had a hard life.

Dave

My guess is, if it jumps around, it's a DC unit. Don't ask how I learned that.

 

Steve

I think you're right Steve.